Re: Kol Isha/Miriam's Song/Wagner

[Alex Lubet <lubet001...>]

At 11:52 AM 2/24/2003 -0800, you wrote:

>--- Alex Lubet <lubet001 (at) umn(dot)edu> wrote:
> > At 10:11 AM 2/24/2003 -0800, you wrote:
> >
> > > > >
> > > > >Of course.  There are evil geniuses and some of
> > > > them are artists.
> > >
> > >yes but does that make them ok or not to listen to.
> > >many people i know will no longer listen to the
> > music
> > >of R. Kelly because of recent discoveries of his
> > >enjoyment of underage girls. i cant think of anyone
> > >who would go out and say...."well i know the lyrics
> > >arent right but im really into the sound of some of
> > >those white supremacist punk groups". the question
> > is
> > >basically at what point do we say ok, this has
> > crossed
> > >the line and while you cannot deny the fact that it
> > is
> > >art it is not art that should be respected or
> > enjoyed.
> >
> >
> > I don't disagree  at all, but this is very complex
> > and a question that
> > extends beyond music to, for example, medical
> > research.  Lots of people who
> > like the sound of rap listen despite the lyrics.
> > bell hooks has an article
> > entitled "Mad at Miles", in which she grapples with
> > loving his music vs.
> > his misogynistic violence.
> >
>
>
>im on the miles davis list also and invoking bell
>hooks can be the equvalent of saying saul berman here
>so shes not without her detractors as well.....


I'm sure that's true.  I don't always agree with her myself, but the 
historical record on Davis and women is pretty clear and it could be pretty 
off-putting for plenty of people, whether it's hooks who noted it or 
someone else.


>
> > I know some folks draw the line at whether the evil
> > is apparent in the art,
> > others at whether the evil is/was an activity (in
> > Wagner's case) or just an
> > attitude (Chopin was also an anti-Semite).
> >
>
>
>some would say that it is impossible to separate the
>art from the artist..where does that leave you then?
>does that mean that chopin should be taken with a
>grain of salt as well? should roman polanski have
>chosen other music for "the pianist"? i tend to live
>somewhere between the two, i dont think that every
>aspect of the artist is directly correlated to the
>art, but the life of the artist helps to illuminate
>greatly the art in question. so it might be easier to
>digest chopin because its not so apparent how his ife
>intersected with his music, while with wagner (or
>R.Kelly, since much of his music is of a sexual nature
>to begin with) its becomes more difficult as some
>stuff is more plain to see.
>
>My point as well.
> >
> >
> >

Alex Lubet, Ph. D.
Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music
Adjunct Professor of American and Jewish Studies
University of Minnesota
100 Ferguson Hall
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612 624-7840 (o)
612 699-1097 (h)
612 624-8001  ATTN:  Alex Lubet (FAX)

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